Italy that seduces

" Today the reputation of Italy  in the world is big for the seduction of its way of life, which  is not codified in any book and which waits for a writer that collects examples of many lives, ancient and contemporary. Who has formed this reputation? Not the rhetorics, not men of letters, not political men, certainly not generals and admirals, not  administrators and not even  catholic priests, that are  surely  a genuine product of  Italian civilization. 

More than ever the reputation belongs to narrators, to poets, painters and sculptures and architects, to actors, cooks and  tailors,  sportswomen,  skin-divers and air ones, to the women who fall in love and to the Italian lovers, the beautiful women of  cinematography and to the guy of the road… the increasing mass of  tourists represents an international voting in favour of the Italians. It feeds those Italians with a certain love without esteem, exchanged again by Italians with an exaggerated appraisal accompanied with a not too much love. 

Italy of Renaissance, the unitary parenthesis of this disunited country, appears ended. But the universal Italy – the one that  imports more - continues to occupy and to worry our minds for work of the single Italian individuals, always admirable get out of the way of embarrassment and correcting the painful and onerous situations in which their captains lead them. Their industry and their genius, their ability to resolve with a feature of astuteness or assiduousness of work, their personal problems never end from the harding in admiration”. 

Prezzolini “The legacy of Italy” 1948 Columbia University